Transplant coordinators and communication with potential organ donor migrant families in France: an exploratory qualitative study.

Donor transplant coordinators often face organ donation refusals by migrant families in France. A multidisciplinary Working Group was asked by "Fondation Greffe de Vie" and Roche Company, in collaboration with the French national agency "Agence de la Biomédecine," to design a support program to improve communication between coordinators and families from other cultures upon the death of a family member who could be a potential donor. CerPhi was asked to conduct a survey of 30 coordinators in 22 French establishments. Most of the interviewed coordinators indicated that cultural differences complicate communication with families, leading to a higher proportion of organ donation refusals than among the local population. Coordinators are looking for a better knowledge of cultural and religious patterns as well as pertinent transcultural behaviors to improve their communication with families in the painful moment of raising the question of organ consent.